El Tipico Restaurant

Lucky enough to catch their food truck at 19^th and G street. Best pupusas I have had in a long time! Gauc was also fantastic.

Super cute little Mexican restaurant in a shopping center. Didn’t have guac or accept credit cards, and sadly it didn’t seem like hooters like the other Unilocalers had mentioned, but I thought it was delicious! Queso was definitely velveeta but I’m ok with that, and we now have yummy leftovers to use for sexy time later!

Just ate a burrito from their truck in downtown D.C. Very mediocre. I was the only person there, yet they still gave me a burrito that was so poorly wrapped I had to rip off all the foil and eat with utensils. For $ 9, it was way under-​filled, too. I’m still hungry. Should have tried any of the other trucks on the square…

not very good food. there alot a better out their. overprices as well,

Not an extraordinarily picky guy, but being from Houston, I know Tex Mex. The chips in the nachos were stale and the quesadillas were bland as crackers without the salt.
The food cooled very quickly. Not surprisingly, because nothing tasted fresh.
Furthermore, the air was warm and stuffy. The AC could not have been working properly which made for a very uncomfortable experience.
With so many options, I will not visit here again.

Pretty good

This place served descent pupusas & chicharon. Only problem I have is when you carryout, be sure to double check your order ‘coz they forgot 2 pupusas. I wouldn’t buy beer there either coz it’s overpriced, $ 5 a bottle for lunch. Plato Tipico was just ok!

I stopped into El Tipico while my car was having some work done up the street. It was afternoon and the place was fairly quiet with only about five customers in the restaurant. I took a seat at the bar and my bartender greeted me with a friendly smile, answering my questions about the menu. I ordered an enchilada plate and a beer and took in the restaurant which sported a dance floor and a set of mirrored walls. I got the feel that this place was heavy on dancing late night but I was certainly too early for any of that. I know that several reviewers have posted something about a Hooter-​like feel, but honestly, I didn’t see it or maybe I was just oblivious,
When my meal arrived I was very pleased. It was Tex-​Mex and not Salvadorian style, something I had asked my bartender about earlier. It was also quite good. I had another beer and settled in and that is where things went down hill. One of the customers went to a juke box and began to play dance music that was so loud that I was certain that it would shatter the mirrors any moment. I realized that the music was set to the same volume as the night before, but none of the staff even took notice. Finally, after ten minutes of ear-​shattering noise that could hardly be called music, my bartender lowered the volume,
However, this didn’t ruin my dinning experience, No, that started when I asked my bartender for the bill, I already had two $ 20 bills in my hand and she smiled and went to get my check. At that moment, the manager/​owner? came up to her and asked to see my check. With some whispering to my bartender, the manager took my bill and threw it in the trash and proceeded to go back into the register and ring up a new slip. At this point, I am thinking, «Hey, I’m getting a beer on the house.» Dream on sports fan. My bartender approached me with a grimace on her face and my new bill, I just knew something was up and sure enough I saw my 3 beers staring back at me but I also saw a suspicious price of $ 5 for a Miller Lite. Now, a number of bars in Old Town do charge $ 5 for a beer, but the average price E; Tipico’s area is about $ 3.50, I asked my bartender if that was the price of a beer and she sheepishly said yes, Now, I am not sure if the price really was $ 5/​beer or if that was the non-​regular price, but it was obvious to me that something wasn’t right. I made sure to tip my bartender %25 and left with, i am sorry to say, a sour taste in my mouth.
It is really unfortunate because until my funky experience with the bill I really was very happy with the food and service. If it hadn’t been for this, I might have given this spot 3.5 to 4 stars, Well, the food was good and if I go back I guess I will play it safe and drink tap water.

Food is not too bad. Customer service was horrible. The waitress did not check on us at all after she brought out the food. I guess she was too busy eating. We had to go up to the counter to pay. Will not be coming back

Saltenas — pass them by and go down a couple of storefronts to the Pan American Bakery. I went in to El Tipico, and it was empty. A lazy Saturday I suppose. I ordered 2 saltenas and was charged $ 11.45! Therefore I was expecting an amazing saltena. Far from it. And I thought that was ridiculous since thier local competitiors Pan American only charges $ 2.50 each, as does Pike’s Grill. I looked at the menu, and saw the saltena was the only thing that didn’t have a price associated with it. I asked the waitress if they were frozen or made fresh, and she said fresh daily… everyday I asked? And she said, yes. But the previous Wednesday when I went it to El Tipico, they said they didn’t serve this on weekdays (as most don’t — Pan American does daily).
Taste/​Flavor? I don’t know, I couldn’t tell much because both of the saltenas I ordered (chicken and beef) were burnt all the way through. The juice was gone, a dry inside which is sometimes an indicator that they are not prepared fresh, but frozen. No refund was offered because the waitress didn’t see anything wrong with it. Photo provided.
Since the restaraunt was empty at that time with pricey saltenas, I expected something great but got the opposite. The cook/​chef should have taken better care with the cook time — Especially since the restaraunt had no customers. I make saltenas at home, and I prefer mine over what I was served that day. Both w/​the masa y el jigote.

I’ve been here a couple of times in the past year. Simple stuff — hot wings, quesadillas and a Budweiser. Always mid-​week — usually pretty quiet. Always a nice bartender who changes the TV from silly telenovelas to ESPN when I ask. Last trip featured a waitress chasing her screaming 3 year old around the place. Guess El Tipico seconds as a day care center. Doesn’t do much for the ambiance, that’s for sure.

Food is pretty decent place was empty but I could see why not a good place to bring your family the way the girls were dressed and if you don’t speak Spanish it could pose a bit of a problem!

Food was good, not great ok. I have to agree with the person who complained about pricing. I ordered 3 Carne Asada Tacos for $ 7.95 but was charged 9.95 for them, I asked why so different, they said that was price change, so ask before you order or keep your menu as proof.
That said the tacos were good, complex and well cooked. The tortillas were harder than I like for soft corn tortilla tacos but I’m not in Los Angeles anymore so good ingredients are hard to come by. The cheese pupusa was tough, I’ve had softer ones that melt in your mouth, this one didn’t. More like a quesdilla.
Overall, having been the only one in the resteraunt at 11:20 am on a Friday in November, it was ok. Crossed another place off my list. No need to go back and I would not recommend it unless like me, you are in the area and want a decent taco at high price.
Ambiance: It was very basic. Looks like they host good parites with loud music, lots of TVs tuned to Telenovelas and latin talk shows. I’d say authentic décor, reminding me of the homes of my friends growing up in East Los Angeles.
Not much more to say. Go if you want to blow some cash on fair Mexican food. I spent $ 20 with tip for lunch, not worth that much!

Went at about 2pm, so we were the only ones in there. Our server had problems with English so it took about 5 tries to order a Dr. Pepper and find out it wasn’t in stock. Not a problem in itself, but a continuing theme of our visit: Service was weak. She didn’t know what was in the items on the menu, served meals and drinks to the wrong people, never came and checked on the food, kept the change from FAR too big a payment. I can’t imagine what it would be like if it was busy. Oh, and she definitely wasn’t Hooters material.
But what about the food you ask? I went with two boys who are not adventuresome eaters, but who ate their tacos, burritos, pupusas right up. I had the enchildadas and they were o.k., beans o.k., sides o.k. In fact, I’d go again as even fair Mexican/​Latino food is hard to come by, but…
drinks were $ 3 a piece. I mean a 10 oz. coke. I was expecting a bill around $ 20 (boys split an entrée) and between our tip-​hoarding waitress and the drinks it ended up at $ 30. Maybe the drinks are sky-​high because of the Hooter action that comes out later in the day?
But I really enjoyed the TV tuned to a Spanish Soap Opera at Train Station decibel levels.

Saw the four stars this place had here and figured it would be a good bet for a quick, cheap meal after climbing at the nearby Sportrock climbing gym. Ummm, no.
First of all, we were overcharged by several dollars on our bill for two pupusa that we didn’t even order — the waitress seemed to understand that we wanted ONE pupusa appetizer for my friends to share (and I got one for myself as part of my combo plate). Instead, she brought out one appetizer order for each of us — and when we called her out on it, she still didn’t fix the bill. At this point it seemed like it might have been more a language barrier than anything, but I don’t know, I think she understood that we had been served food we didn’t order and still chose to do nothing about it.
Unfortunately, the extra pupusa were the high point of the meal — and they weren’t even very good, the pork and cheese pupusa were more aptly characterized as cheese pupusa with the very minor essence of pork. Or none, in my case, I’m pretty sure mine didn’t have one piece of meat in it.
My chicken burrito was fine, very mild flavor… helped by a little hot sauce. My friend had a beef and egg dish that was just plain BAD. I don’t know how to describe it other than that the flavor was just off. My other friend, who spends quite a bit of her time working in Latin America, was excited to find Lomo saltado on the menu — until it was presented to her with not a vegetable to be found on the plate. Apparently the dish is supposed to have peppers, onions and other veggies in it. Not knowing any better, I would have said it had a decent flavor, but she was really disappointed in it. And it was just rice, potatoes, and a little meat… nothing spectacular.
Our bill came to a whopping $ 48 for three people, which was surprising considering my combo platter was just $ 7.95 and their meals couldn’t have been much more than that. Between the extra pupusa we were charged for and their two Coronas, it added up way faster than we felt like it should have… especially considering the mediocre food.
The music was also blaring at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon, so loud that you had to yell across the table to be heard. I won’t be going back.
* BTW, the waitress was dressed very normally while we there — didn’t see any sign of the Hooters attire, which really would have been just icing on a very sour cake!

I randomly dropped in here today for lunch… awesome!!! I will be back often to try everything on the menu!

Just had dinner. Overall, not a bad experience.
Yes, the waitresses were interesting, though as a guy, not THAT interesting to look at. Believe you me, some of those gals SHOULD NOT have been showing all that.
Moving on, I had the Beef tongue in the peanut sauce mentioned earlier. It was fairly good. The rice was white, which surprised me a bit. I guess my prejudices come back to haunt me. The food was excellent. I did not have alcohol, so can’t attest to the potency of the spirits.
The atmosphere was pretty much bar. There were tvs and, yes, a bar, with a few interesting characters. There was a jukebox that was VERY loud with a fine selection of Mexican and Hispanic songs as well as some American popular songs.

Some friends and I wanted to get some rainy day margaritas yesterday, so I found El Tipico courtesy of Unilocal.
The comparison to Hooters is quite apt — the entire staff is female and dress in white shorts and low-​ish cut red tops. The music was ridiculously loud, and there were three tvs featuring different programs: One had sports, the other had news, and the third had a spanish-​spoken variety show with a guest in a bikini whose breasts were literally the size of basketballs. Unlike hooters, though, which is more of a lark and a novelty, the all-​male clientele in the place seemed to take their cleavage much more… «seriously». It felt seedy as opposed to silly, and the male clientele did not hesitate to ogle my group of three ladies as much as they did the staff.
The menu does have much more to offer than your typical mexican restaurant. I had the Pollo a la Crema (chicken breast in cream sauce) and a margarita. The food was decent, and the margaritas, though relatively small in portion size, hit hard in a good way. But then we got the bill, which hit hard in a bad way. Despite the average food entrée being about $ 8, the three of us racked up a $ 60 bill prior to tip for one entrée and one drink each, no appetizers. Then we realized that each margarita was apparently $ 10 (there was no price listed on the menu). Given their size, they’d be $ 5 margaritas anywhere else.
The tasty entrée notwithstanding, I don’t think I’ll be going back. I am not too sensitive when it comes to skewed gender ratios and ogling, but I would frankly feel uncomfortable dining there alone. I have, however, recommend the place to my boyfriend. He’ll enjoy the cleavage and get to practice his Spanish conversation with the waitresses (our first waitress didn’t speak any English and had to hand off our table to another one who did); Since he doesn’t drink he won’t be «surprised» by the bill at the end of the meal, He’ll probably have a blast.

Mexican Hooters? You better believe it.
Stop number Fourteen on the South of the Border Queso (or Guacamole) Comparison, Culinary Discovery Tour and Gastronomic Extravaganza (SotBQ[oG]CCDTaGE).
I know there are devoted fans of Hooters out there, no doubt people who have deep affection for owls of all sorts, especially the ones that have giant, and I mean really big, saucer-​sized eyes. However, if you frequent Hooters not for the ocular assets of the owls, err, waitresses, but instead for the tightness of their shirts and the really short shorts they wear, then El Tipico will be a true tortilla-​wrapped version of heaven.
Just check out their website if you are confused by my improperly extended metaphor.
Laura and I were, I believe, the only females in the restaurant, aside from the manager, who had on long pants and correctly sized shirts.
Anywho (who? get it? owls?), you may also care about the food here. I know I did. «Did» being past tense. I cared about the food UNTIL I had one of their margaritas. Pow! I covered by ordering the fajitas, my usual stand-​by, thus disguising the loss of my ability to read the rest of the menu.
We started with some guacamole, and some pupusas. The guac was great — creamy and tasty, and the chips were freshly fried. The pupusas were likewise tasty, and the pork and cheese one was especially decadent.
My fajitas were pretty darn good (I think). I remember the beef being tender and well-​seasoned. The side toppings included the usual pico de gallo, lettuce, rice, beans, and a smidgen of cheese. It all combined into some great steak tacos (my preferred method of eating fajitas).
I also remember being distracted by Mike T.‘s tongue. No, not the one in his mouth — the one on his plate. It was laaaarge. See his review for greater detail.
In summation, the food was much better than I might have predicted, given the whole Mexican Hooters thing. I mean, if you’re presenting healthy girls in tight clothes, I figure why worry about the food? But at El Tipico, they do both quite well.

Stop number 14 on the South of the Border Queso (or Guacamole) Comparison, Culinary Discovery Tour and Gastronomic Extravaganza. This time, it seems, we’ve beat Unilocal to the punch and found this hidden gem in the southwest end of Alexandria. Of course, I was joined by my tour co-​creator, Mary Kay, and we had a newbie along for the ride: Mike T.
This little place is hidden in a nondescript strip mall in the middle of a very commercial area. Once inside though, it’s as if you’re transported outside of the US. Very little English is spoken here, and my measly Spanish sure didn’t help things. But we got by just fine. This place is absolutely the real deal. It was very clean and tidy and the service was prompt and friendly.
So, after we got over the language barrier, we settled in with some drinks and an order of pupusas and guacamole. The guac was awesome, with freshly made-​to-​order chips. I rate this place #1 for those chips and guac. The pupusas were great too — although, my understanding is that meat filled ones are better due to the, well, meatiness of them.
For our meals, MKS and I had our usuals and Mike had one of the Bolivian specialties — Mixtec. I will let each of them review their choices, but heck there was a lot of food on the table! I had the shrimp fajitas (I mean really people, does this come as a surprise to you at this point?). They were very tasty, cooked just right, with a mountain of onions. Once again, only three green pepper strips — what’s with that? The sizzling platters were so hot and sizzly that there were spatters everywhere and that food continued to cook while we ate. YUM! The rice and beans were really yummy and of course any time refried beans are that good, you know there has GOT to be about 9 pounds of lard in them. (I’m trying to overlook that.) My meal gets an enthusiastic thumbs up.
Now, there was one odd thing about this place. Apparently, all of the service staff are women. Now that in itself isn’t odd. But the fact that they all wore orange tank tops, short black shorts and knee hi boots? That was kind of strange. Felt like we were in a Mexican Hooters. And that’s when MKS and I realized we were the only female patrons in there…
Weirdness aside, I like this place. A LOT. There was something homey about it. And welcoming. I knew it was going to be good when we walked in — just had that feeling. And for those of you who like beef tongue (tacos and the like), this place is for you. They had a lot of it on the menu. They also serve up Bolivian and Salvadorean specialties in addition to the Mexican choices. Prices were reasonable too.
I will definitely be going back and even grabbed myself a takeout menu since it’s rather nearby. If you Unilocalers are feeling adventurous and want to head to the (oh my gosh, NO! GASP! I can’t go there) Alexandria/​Van Dorn Metro area, I highly recommend you give El Tipico a try.
Muy Bueno y gracias por lei mis (como se dice en espanol?) reviews.